Book Page Flowers

Book Page Flowers

Materials:

Book pages 

Fiskars X-Large Oopsie Daisy punch

Newspaper 

White glue

Hot glue

Flower stem - I actually used discarded artificial floral stems. This is a great way to repurpose something that would normally be considered trash. You could check with a local florist or craft store that carries artificial floral arrangements. If you can't get these; wire, bamboo skewers, or actual twigs would also work. 

Lets get started!

Go and find any newspaper. 

      Tear the newspaper in strips. 

Place strips in a pot or bowl that you no longer use with food. 

Pour boiling over the paper and stir. Let sit for at least an hour and stir occasionally. Drain off the water. Take a handful of paper and squeeze out the water. Form a tight ball, squeeze a little glue in your hand, and rub the glue over the outsize of the newspaper ball.

Place the news paper balls on wax paper and let dry. It will take several days for them to dry completely if they are indoors. They dry much quicker if you place them outside in the sunshine! This way only takes a day or two.

Gather book pages and Fiskars Oopsie Daisy punch and start punching!

The number of flowers you will need will depend on how big you make the center of your flower. Start with at least 25-30.

You need to fold the petals in for each individual flower. Please don't make my mistake and fold up each individual petal. Grab the flower in your hand and pull the petals inward.
 

After you bend the petals inward, turn the flower over so that the bottom is facing upward.

 

 While the flower is still in your hand, press the bottom. This will crease the flower and all of the petals will stand up. I couldn't show you a picture of this because I only have two hands! I think you get the idea.

 Take one of your flower centers and create a hole in which to place the stem. I hammered a nail in the flower center to create the hole. Next, I put hot glue in to the hole and placed the stem.

Turn the stem upside down and start gluing petals to the bottom first. (Oops...my toothbrush made an appearance. Don't worry, I don't brush my teeth with this one. It is what I use to get rid of the pesky hot glue strings when I'm done with the flower.)

 Keep adding petals around the bottom.

Continue working your way around and up the center of the flower. 

 You may have to 'bend' your petals a little if you get a space that is tight. Don't worry because you won't notice this once you are finished.

 Here is a completed flower. I used book pages here, but you could use any paper you like. Try experimenting with different papers and different paper punches. You could use a scalloped circle (gently folded in fourths) to create a hydrangea flower. Different papers and different punches open the door to endless flowers!